INTERVIEW OF MIHIR(FOUNDER OF MPOWER FOR YOUTH)!!!!

So let's start with the interview now. let's begin with a quick introduction so the audience can get to know you better. So tell us about yourself.

Yeah, my name is Mihir Mutyampeta. I am a 12th grade student. I'm 17 years old and from Hyderabad .I am passionate about computer science.

Yeah. So could you describe yourself in three words?

Yeah. I'd say ambitious, enthusiastic, and optimistic.

That is really nice. So tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I think something interesting would be , I hold a national level award in the language of Telugu, there was this competition that I was a part of when I was in the US. And yeah, I won a national award for it.

That's really impressive. Congratulations.

Thank you.

So you're the president and founder of MPower for youth . So could you tell us more about it?

It's a youth empowerment initiative. It's basically in the name. And it's youth empowerment. So it's a lot of things , But empowerment in general we kind of approach that with two things. First thing is about helping people take control of their interests, and help them understand what their interests are. And the second thing is about making sure that they are equipped to be able to pursue those interests in the future. So this can literally mean anything, right What we do .In the past, we've worked on academic tutoring program for underprivileged students for about two weeks. Another thing we did was, recently, we had a personal development program that we finished just two weeks back. That personal development, you know, we talked about how to find yourself, what does it mean to have some strengths, how to find your purpose, passion, and then we expose our program attendees, to various career options to help them explore and really understand what they mean not exhaustive, a couple other things we did. So overall, I think then, in terms of empowerment, we've done work monetarily, you know, we've given an orphanage, a couple of tablets, because they really needed them. In another case with work, we've just given some money to another place. And, yeah, so sometimes it's money many times it's not, but overall, we hope to just build a generation of empowered individuals.

That's really great. So how was your experience working with underprivileged children?

That was a really really good. So I think the thing, any student, especially underprivileged students, is that they are really motivating so I'm not saying that, you know, more or less people aren't motivated, but it's something that I've noticed. And that's really interesting. So, you know, it's amazing to work with them because they're motivated. And that also gives you the motivation to, you know, work on whatever you're doing. So, I didn't personally work with anyone one on one, because I was a facilitator, and I lead and develop the program along with my team. But I did get a chance to interact with some of the people we were working with, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. And overall, it was a really, really nice experience. I really loved it.

That sounds like a really great experience. So what inspired you to create Mpower for youth.

So about that, I think it was something, that I wanted to do for a while. the main idea started when I was in the 11th grade, I think, you remember when the pandemic began the height of damage, starting with you know, May, June time. And obviously, as you know all schools went online. And during that time, we got information about an orphanage that was in need of some technological resources, specifically laptops. And I thought I'd do something to help them. So I ran a fundraiser, I raised money, and put that money towards two laptops, and a Lenovo tablet. And we gave it to them. So that was the beginning, And I didn't really start anything as an initiative until January of 2021. So this year, last year, I had the idea ,I was busy with school exams and all of that. So I kind of put it aside . So the idea came from this, you know, realizing that from a position of privilege, it's kind of my duty to kind of work towards helping people. But also another thing is that empowerment is really not just like monetarily helping people. It's there's a lot of personal things that people need to understand, you know, if they want to be empowered, then that's things like understanding who you are. There's this concept of individuality, be passionate about something, right These are the things that you really need to understand in terms of if you want to decide a career choice, but even in anything else, just doing anything in life, it's like to have to understand what your purpose is, and what the purpose of doing that is . And this is just a small idea, again, it's not like everything is just around purpose or something. But this was an idea that I had, I wanted to implement something that could really work that aspect.

That's a really great idea. And I wish you good luck. So what are your future plans?

So personally, I think I mentioned it earlier, I'm really passionate about computer science. So that is what I want to study. Most probably in either US or Canada. And after that happens, I've always been interested in entrepreneurship, you know, doing something of my own, and then creating impact that way. So I probably try to become an entrepreneur in the future. But that's all I really, at this point in time I have the plans for , with Mpower I think just making the biggest impact that i can and I don't really have the numbers in mind, I don't have like, a size in mind. Because I feel like that's a hindrance in a way it puts pressure on you. And I prefer not to have that kind of pressure. whatever I can do within my powers, is what I want to do. But I want to do as much as I can, as long as.

Yeah, that's really great. So you must be having a very busy schedule. So how do you manage studies, Mpower and everything? How do you manage?

Right now, academics is not one of my major priorities only because I mean, it's not like I just leave it, right, I have to study. But it's not one of the major things I'm doing right now, which allows me to spend time on things like this. But overall, in managing time, I think it's very important for you to set your priorities you need to understand what is important to you. And first and foremost, it's always so irrespective of what I'm doing, that's my first priority. So it's important that for everyone that might not be the case it is for me, but not for everyone. So in that case, you need to understand what your priorities are. So set your priorities make like a list in order of priority highest-lowest, and then that will help you understand what three or four things you will do on daily basis, so if you've given yourself to something, you better do it every day, because that's how you will actually do something within that day. So academics wise, or if you know, starting your own initiative, or you're like an intern at some company, whatever it is, you need to make sure you're doing it every day consistent. So yeah, to be able to do something consistently, though, you need to understand what I need to be doing every day, this comes back to that priorities. So I think that's very important. But on a daily basis, there are small tasks that we come across. Like these are things that you won't plan for, but they'll come across anyway. So I think you should leave out a block of time in your day To do those. And the priorities, things that I talked about, I think you should set a block of time for those things that you will do every day, so that your mind is automatically tune doing those things.

That's really great advice. And it really helps sometimes to set your priorities. So do you have any other hobbies or interests?

Yeah, I like to tend to our garden. It's just nice to be in the garden. So that's one thing that I like to do. I like to play badminton. since COVID happened, I haven't been able to train or anything, But once a week we get to play in school, So that's one thing I really enjoy. Right now I mean, generally I've always loved reading. it's decreased drastically over the last couple years since I entered the 11th grade. But yeah, reading is something that I do.

Yeah, what kind of books do you read?

I mean, it's changed over the time. When I was younger, I just used to like fiction, fantasy, that kind of stuff. I mean, the best example is Harry Potter. I've always loved them. when I was younger i use to read things like the magic treehouse, there was a lot of small books ,then as i got older I would read bigger books, Harry Potter. And there was all very random books. But there were a lot of fiction. But now I've kind of had an interest in kind of like personal development kind of stuff. And people like Robert Kiyosaki, that's actually the only person I've been reading recently. But I have a couple of books that I want to get to soon.

That's really nice. So what are your future plans of growing Mpower for youth?

Yeah, as I said, I do want to grow and it's not like I want ,it's not about me putting it on paper, you know, this many people we have work with, it's not about that, it's that if we grow, it means that we're helping more people. And that's not just me, that's what we all care about in our team. So it's not like I haven't uploaded anything. What I really do care about is making sure that I can do as much as possible. It's not like, that's the only thing I'm doing right. And I'm in the 12th grade. So I have school this is my last year, So I have to focus. But whatever is in my powers, I'd like to do as much as possible.

Yeah, that's really great. So do you have any other projects you're working on?

So I think another thing is currently I'm the COO of a small startup called Machinaa technology , And it's about implementing technological solutions to societal problems. And a recent project that we worked on, is developing computer science courses, to provide for free for anyone who's interested. So we have one on how to use computers, and then one on Python. And that's kind of ongoing, that's one project we are working on.

That's a really interesting idea. So if you weren't interested in computer science, what would you be interested in?

That's an interesting question. I think, since I was younger, I've always wanted to be a chemist. It's not like I want to anymore. There's no way I want to get into chemistry. But when I was younger, I liked the concept of mixing chemicals and seeing what happens. I thought that's all chemistry was which is why I wanted to be a chemist, But to answer your question, I think I've actually never thought about it. But I'm pretty sure I want to be in something like in the area of diplomacy. So as in international relations or something of the sort, because you know Model United Nations that concept , I've always loved them. And that's something I've always enjoyed. I just like the concept of international relations, you know, diplomatic relations, things like that. So I think that's one field that I really like.

That's really cool. So do you have a favorite subject in school?

A favorite subject in school, I think it's mathematics.

Any reason?

I don't think anything in particular, it's the one subject I've always enjoyed throughout my life. But I think the reason is there is a right way to do something, it's not like one guy can come up with something, and then you create your own solution. It's like math is one thing. And personally, I like that. I like that there is a definite answer to something. And I like logically solving's ,logic and the definite nature of mathematics is probably what makes me like it .

That's really good. So what's your life's motto?

My dad always tells me this Sanskrit phrase, That basically means always speak the truth and follow in a kind of righteous path that basically is like, a little spiritual, but the point there is that speak the truth don't lie, and do what's right, do what is useful to people basically. And I think that's a really good life motto.

So who's your biggest inspiration in life?

I think my parents are the first, but other than my parents, I think Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Yes, it's really motivating also the seek , the kind of vision he had for India to become a powerful nation the kind of zeal that he had to do something to do anything, because he's done many things. He was a part of DRDO, he was a part of ISRO, he was a part of the nuclear development. So, I think what drove that kind of innovation during this time, was the vision that he had. And I think there's a lot to learn from him .So that's a big inspiration.

That's really nice. And I hope you can live up to your dreams. So how do you see yourself in 10 years?

I think, First of all making sure that I am doing what I love, I think that's the most important thing. Because there is no point in doing something if you don't like it. Other than that, I think I see myself in India, but maybe not, I'm not sure what will happen. But overall, I'm pretty sure I see myself as an entrepreneur, either social entrepreneurship, or, like commercial, General entrepreneurship, whatever it is, I probably see myself as an entrepreneur.

How did you developed the interest in entrepreneurship?

I think the core of entrepreneurship is two things, one making an impact, creating a change in people's lives. And second, creating something of your own . I think I've never really liked the concept of working for someone, I mean, it's not a bad thing. It's actually really useful in times, but it's just that instead of working for someone else, you can work for yourself and build something of your own. I think that's something that I've always loved doing something for myself. And I think that's why entrepreneurship is very attractive to me because it's just the fact that I can actually create an impact for someone based on like a product that I've come up with, or a service that I'm providing whatever it is, they are impacted positively and I'm doing something that is For myself, and it's not contributing to someone else. someone else's, you know dream or something .I have a dream and I want to be able to work with it. And that's why I really like it.

It's really great. And I wish you the best of luck. So concluding this interview. So do you have any other advice for future entrepreneurs or people just want to start their own thing?

Yeah, I think Don't underestimate yourself. Just, if you have an idea try to do something. But I think really before that, understand, have a vision for whatever you're thinking, I had an idea, I saw myself doing something, which is how I was able to start. if you have an idea, create a vision. And then based on that, you can really do anything. Because if you have like an end goal in mind, that's kind of like the purpose, you have set your purpose and then that helps you develop the path towards that goal. So I think that's really important. And then second of all, don't be afraid to ask for help from people. I think that's really, really important. Either if you're using LinkedIn, things like that, approaching people on LinkedIn, or approaching people in your daily life, which you need help from them on anything that you're working on. Whatever it is, don't be hesitant to ask people. And I think Finally, it comes back. Don't underestimate yourself. If you really think you can do something, either if it's a business, if it's some social impact initiative that you have, whatever it is, just take the leap, take a leap of faith and then something or the other will happen for sure .

That is really a great advice. So I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Thank you so much for being here.

Of course thank you for inviting me bye.

Bye